History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July
1842]

July 17 they dispel the
gloom, dry the tear of sorrow, and pour humanity’s healing balm into my grieved
and sorrowful heart. Be assured therefore,
brother Joseph, that effusions from the altar of a
grateful heart are smoking to heaven daily, in thy behalf; and not only in
thine, but in behalf of all
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

who, with me, has suffered the chilling
blasts of adversity, yet hope lingers in this bosom, brightened almost into
certainty by the implicit confidence reposed in the virtue of that
call which was borne on the gentle breeze of the
spirit of God through the dark shades of midnight gloom, ’till it found a
mansion in my anxious and enquiring heart, that my feet shall once more
press the American soil; and under the shade of her streaming banner
embrace again the friends I love. ¶ I
never knew that I was, in reality an American, until I walked out one fine
morning in Rotterdam along the wharf, where many ships
lay in the waters of the Rhine: Suddenly my eye
caught a broad pendant floating in a gentle breeze over the stern of a
fine ship at half mizzen mast; and when I saw the wide spread Eagle perched on
her banner, with the stripes and stars under which our fathers were led on
to conquest and victory, my heart leaped into my mouth, a flood of tears
burst from my eyes, and before reflection could mature a sentence, my mouth
involuntarily, gave birth to these words, “I am an American”—
To see the flag of one’s country in a strange land, and
floating upon strange waters, produces feelings which none can know except
those who experience them. I can now say that I am an American. While at
home, the warmth and fire of the American spirit lay in silent slumber in my
bosom; but the winds of foreign climes have fanned it into a flame.— I
have seen some of the finest specimens of painting and sculpture of both
ancient and modern times. The vast variety of curiosities, also, from
every country on the globe, together with every novelty that genius could
invent or imagination conceive, which I have been compelled to witness in
the course of my travels, would be too heavy a tax upon my time to
describe, and upon your patience to read. I have witnessed the wealth and
splendor of many of the towns of Europe,— have
gazed with admiration upon her widely extended plains— her lofty
mountains— her mouldering castles,— and her extensive vine yards: For at this
Season nature is clad in her bridal robes, and smiles under the benign
jurisprudence of her Author. I have also listened to the blandishments,
gazed upon the pride and fashion of a world grown old in luxury and
refinement, viewed the pageantry of Kings, Queens, Lords and nobles; and
am now where military honor, and princely dignity, must bow at the shrine of—
clerical superiority. In fine my mind has become cloyed with novelty, pomp
and show; and turns with disgust from the glare of fashion to commune with
itself in retired meditation. Were it consistent with the will of Deity,
and consonant with the convictions of my own bosom; most gladly would I
retreat from the oppressing heat of public life,
and seek repose in the cool and refreshing shades of domestic endearments,
and bask in the affections of my own little family circle. But the will of
God be done! Can the Messiah’s kingdom but be advanced through my toil,
privation, and excessive labors; and at last sanctify my work through the
effusion of my blood! I yield, O Lord! I yield to thy righteous mandate!
Imploring help from thee in the hour of trial, and strength in the day of
weakness to faithfully endure until my immortal spirit shall be driven
from its earthly mansion to find a refuge in the bosom of its God. If the
friends in
America

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

<July 17> they dispel the
gloom, dry the tear of sorrow, and pour humanity’s healing balm into my grieved
and sorrowful heart. Be assured therefore,
brother Joseph, that effusions from the altar of a
grateful heart are smoking to heaven daily, in thy behalf; and not only in
thine, but in behalf of all
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

who, with me, has suffered the chilling
blasts of adversity, yet hope lingers in this bosom, brightened almost into
certainty by the implicit confidence reposed in the virtue of that
call which was borne on the gentle breeze of the
spirit of God through the dark shades of midnight gloom, ’till it found a
mansion in my anxious and enquiring heart, that my feet shall once more
press the American soil; and under the shade of her streaming banner
embrace again the friends I love. ¶ I
never knew that I was, in reality an American, until I walked out one fine
morning in Rotterdam along the wharf, where many ships
lay in the waters of the Rhine: Suddenly my eye
caught a broad pendant floating in a gentle breeze over the stern of a
fine ship at half mizzen mast; and when I saw the wide spread Eagle perched on
her banner, with the stripes and stars under which our fathers were led on
to conquest and victory, my heart leaped into my mouth, a flood of tears
burst from my eyes, and before reflection could mature a sentence, my mouth
involuntarily, gave birth to these words, “I am an American”—
<To see the flag of one’s country in a strange land, and
floating upon strange waters, produces feelings which none can know except
those who experience them. I can now say that I am an American. While at
home, the warmth and fire of the American spirit lay in silent slumber in my
bosom; but the winds of foreign climes have fanned it into a flame.>— I
have seen some of the finest specimens of painting and sculpture of both
ancient and modern times. The vast variety of curiosities, also, from
every country on the globe, together with every novelty that genius could
invent or imagination conceive, which I have been compelled to witness in
the course of my travels, would be too heavy a tax upon my time to
describe, and upon your patience to read. I have witnessed the wealth and
splendor of many of the towns of Europe,— have
gazed with admiration upon her widely extended plains— her lofty
mountains— her mouldering castles,— and her extensive vine yards: For at this
Season nature is clad in her bridal robes, and smiles under the benign
jurisprudence of her Author. I have also listened to the blandishments,
gazed upon the pride and fashion of a world grown old in luxury and
refinement, viewed the pageantry of Kings, Queens, Lords and nobles; and
am now where military honor, and princely dignity, must bow at the shrine of—
clerical superiority. In fine my mind has become cloyed with novelty, pomp
and show; and turns with disgust from the glare of fashion to commune with
itself in retired meditation. Were it consistent with the will of Deity,
and consonant with the convictions of my own bosom; most gladly would I
retreat from the <op>pressing heat of public life,
and seek repose in the cool and refreshing shades of domestic endearments,
and bask in the affections of my own little family circle. But the will of
God be done! Can the Messiah’s kingdom but be advanced through my toil,
privation, and excessive labors; and at last sanctify my work through the
effusion of my blood! I yield, O Lord! I yield to thy righteous mandate!
Imploring help from thee in the hour of trial, and strength in the day of
weakness to faithfully endure until my immortal spirit shall be driven
from its earthly mansion to find a refuge in the bosom of its God. If the
friends in
America

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

This document, “History,
1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” is the third of six
volumes of the “Manuscript History of the Church” (in The
Joseph Smith Papers the “Manuscript History” bears the editorial title
“History, 1838–1856”). The completed six-volume collection covers the period
from 23 December 1805 to 8
August 1844. The narrative in this volume commences on
2 November 1838 with
JS and other church leaders being held prisoner by
the “Governor

14 Dec. 1796–14 Mar. 1860. Bookkeeper, bank cashier, merchant, Indian agent and trader, lawyer, doctor, postmaster, politician. Born at Lexington, Fayette Co., Kentucky. Son of John M. Boggs and Martha Oliver. Served in War of 1812. Moved to St. Louis, ca...

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

, Illinois,
on 31 July 1842. For a more complete
discussion of the entire six-volume work, see the
general
introduction to this history.

Volume C-1 was
created beginning on or just after 24 February
1845 and its narrative was completed by 3
May 1845, although some additional work continued on the volume through
3 July of that year (Richards, Journal, 24
and 28 Feb. 1845; Historian’s Office, Journal, 3 May 1845; 3 and 4 July 1845).
It is in the handwriting of
Thomas
Bullock and contains 512 pages of primary text, plus 24 pages of addenda.
Additional addenda for this volume were created at a later date as a
supplementary document and appear in this collection as “History, 1838-1856,
volume C-1 Addenda.” Compilers
Willard Richards

and Thomas Bullock drew heavily
from JS’s letters, discourses, and diary entries;
meeting minutes; church and other periodicals and journals; and reminiscences,
recollections, and letters of church members and other contacts. At JS’s
behest, Richards maintained the first-person, chronological-narrative format
established in previous volumes, as if JS were the author.
Brigham
Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

14 June 1801–22 June 1868. Blacksmith, potter. Born at Sheldon, Franklin Co., Vermont. Son of Solomon Farnham Kimball and Anna Spaulding. Married Vilate Murray, 22 Nov. 1822, at Mendon, Monroe Co., New York. Member of Baptist church at Mendon, 1831. Baptized...

26 June 1817–1 Sept. 1875. Born at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York. Son of John Smith and Clarissa Lyman. Baptized into LDS church by Joseph H. Wakefield, 10 Sept. 1832, at Potsdam. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1833. Labored on Kirtland temple...

, and others reviewed and
modified the manuscript prior to its eventual publication in the
Salt
Lake City newspaper Deseret News.

The historical
narrative recorded in volume C-1 continued the account of
JS’s life as prophet and president of the church.
Critical events occurring within the forty-five-month period covered by this
text include the Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

Mormon War; subsequent legal trials of church
leaders; expulsion of the Saints from Missouri; missionary efforts in
England by the
Twelve

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

and others; attempts by JS to obtain federal
redress for the Missouri depredations; publication of the LDS Millennial
Star in England; the migration of English converts to
America

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

; missionary efforts in other
nations; the death of church patriarch
Joseph
Smith Sr.

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

Also known as pinery. Area near Black River where lumbering operation was established to provide timber for construction of Nauvoo temple, Nauvoo House, and other public buildings. Four mills established on Black River, ca. Sept. 1841: three near Black River...

on the Mount of Olives in Palestine;
publication of the “Book of Abraham” in the Nauvoo Times and
Seasons; publication of the JS history often referred to as the
“Wentworth letter;” the organization of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo;
and the inception of Nauvoo-era temple endowment ceremonies.

,
Jonathan Grimshaw, and
Leo
Hawkins; 512 pages, plus 24 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the third
volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This third volume
covers the period from 2
November 1838 to 31 July 1842; the remaining five volumes, labeled A-1,
B-1, D-1, E-1 and F-1, continue through 8 August
1844.